UFCW Canada announces 2025 Equity Grant Recipients
Toronto – February 11, 2026 – UFCW Canada is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Equity Grant, recognizing the impactful work they are leading to advance equity, inclusion, and social justice in their communities.
Launched in recognition of Human Rights Day in 2020, the UFCW Canada Equity Grant Program awards $1,000 annually to three recipients. The program supports UFCW members and community justice advocates who are actively leading—or planning—initiatives that challenge inequality, dismantle barriers to inclusion, and promote social justice.
By supporting UFCW members and community leaders, the Equity Grant empowers those working to foster solidarity and meaningful change through grassroots and community-based action. The program reflects UFCW Canada’s core values and honours the important social justice efforts of members and allies across the country.
2025 UFCW Canada Equity Grant Recipients
Gwenn Brake
Gwenn Brake is a member of UFCW Local 864 from Potlotek First Nation in Nova Scotia. She has been deeply involved in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement in her community for many years, creating and distributing signage to raise awareness about the crisis.
This spring, Gwenn will use Equity Grant funding to create a billboard to be placed at the edge of her community, facing the highway. The billboard will list the names of missing and murdered Indigenous women across Nova Scotia, offering a powerful reminder to passing drivers and helping raise awareness of this ongoing crisis.
Sui Kwong Yau
Sui Kwong Yau is a member of UFCW Local 832 working in Brandon, Manitoba. He applied for the Equity Grant to organize a series of community coffee-time gatherings aimed at building understanding and connection between Chinese and Canadian cultures in Brandon.
Using the funding, Sui Kwong will host approximately five gatherings beginning in February, coinciding with Lunar New Year celebrations. The sessions will invite community members to learn about one another’s traditions, fostering unity, dialogue, and cultural exchange.
Drea Moothu
Drea Moothu is the Operations and Strategy Lead at the Squamish Welcome Centre, a non-profit organization that provides information, services, and connections to resources for residents of Squamish, B.C.
Equity Grant funding will support the expansion of the centre’s Digital Divide Project, which helps community members build the skills and confidence needed to safely navigate online spaces. The funding will allow the program to operate as a low-barrier drop-in service during the off-season months of April and May, helping seniors—many of whom are low-income or newcomers—access essential online services such as booking health appointments. Due to limited resources, the centre is often forced to turn people away, making this funding critically important.
In the coming weeks, UFCW Canada will highlight the work of each Equity Grant recipient and share opportunities for members and allies to get involved and support their important initiatives.
